


Motherhood

by MissXolo



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Anxiety, Body Image, Crushes, Crying, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Questioning, Self Confidence Issues, Stress, Sugamama, Team Mom Sugawara Koushi, Team Parents Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Teenage Drama, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-14
Updated: 2021-02-17
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:55:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,353
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29393007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MissXolo/pseuds/MissXolo
Summary: Sugawara takes his reputation as “team mom” very seriously. The nickname might be a joke, but that doesn’t stop him from making sure his teammates know that they can come to him for anything. A.K.A. Suga being a mom to each of the first years in different ways.
Relationships: Azumane Asahi/Nishinoya Yuu, Hinata Shouyou/Kageyama Tobio, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Sawamura Daichi/Sugawara Koushi, Tsukishima Kei/Yamaguchi Tadashi
Comments: 7
Kudos: 34





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I decided to put this as Teen & Up because of some of the questions Hinata asks as well as some of the stuff that goes down with Tsukki in upcoming chapters. Also, if discussions about body image are uncomfortable for you, this might not be your cup of tea; you might want to skip chapter 2.  
> Please enjoy Suga being the best Team Mom.

Sugawara Koushi was well aware of his reputation as the “team mom” of the Karasuno boys’ volleyball team. Even though the nickname was initially given to him as a joke (as well as Daichi’s “team dad” nickname), Suga quickly realized that it truly fit him and his protective, affectionate personality. He had already been fiercely supportive of his teammates and friends for the past three years, and he was always there for his teammates if they had questions, needed help, or even if they just wanted to talk.

So, you can laugh all you want, but Suga enjoyed his role as - in Nishinoya’s words - Sugamama.

A few weeks into the first semester, Hinata approached him in the club room. After darting around to ensure he was alone with the third-year, Hinata shut the door and hurried over to where Suga was busy changing into his practice clothes.

“Suga-san,” he began, “I… I need help with something.”

Suga smiled fondly at his junior. “Okay, no problem. What’s up?”

Hinata fiddled with the pockets of his hoodie. It was then that Suga noticed that the younger boy was blushing furiously and seemed uneasy, and… scared? Nervous, maybe?

“I don’t know where to start,” Hinata started, shifting from foot to foot. “Um… I think I might be gay. I don’t know if I am or not though. So, like… when did you know?”

Ah, okay. Suga figured this talk would be coming sometime soon, especially after he and Daichi told the first-years that they were in a relationship. He sat down on the bench across from his locker, motioning for Hinata to sit beside him.

“Okay, so, I knew I was gay when I was in my first year. I had been questioning my sexuality for about two years before that, since it seemed like everyone else had girlfriends and I just - I don’t know - didn’t feel attracted to girls, I guess. I never wanted to kiss a girl or anything like that. Then, I met this boy who I wanted to be around all the time - I wanted to be close to him, I wanted to hug him, and eventually I realized that I wanted to kiss him, too. That was pretty much when I figured out that I was gay.” Suga took a deep breath. “Sorry, that was kind of the abridged answer. It was a lot more complicated than that, but, you know.”

Hinata nodded to himself, slowly digesting Suga’s response. “So, if I want to kiss a guy, I’m gay?” he asked.

“Well, not necessarily,” Suga replied. “And there’s more than just being gay or being straight, too.”

“Wait, what?”

Suga laughed gently. “There’s more than just gay and straight. You could also be bisexual, where you’re attracted to guys and girls. And some people don’t feel attraction to anyone.”

The redhead ran a hand through his hair, sighing. “Maybe that’s what I am, then. I think girls are pretty cute. Like Kiyoko? She’s super cute. But… there’s a boy I think I like. And when I have dreams, it’s normally about him and not a girl.” He froze, realizing what he just said. “Sorry, too much info?”

“No, not at all,” Suga said, smiling again. “I’m pretty sure we all get dreams like that.”

“Yeah, I guess so,” Hinata agreed. He looked up at his vice-captain, meeting his eyes. “Thank you for talking about this with me, Suga-san.”

“Any time, Hinata! Thank you for trusting me. If you ever want to talk about it or if you have questions, you know you can talk to me, right?” He grinned at the redhead as he nodded, fiery curls bouncing. “Perfect. I’m gonna go warm up and stretch. Do you have any other questions right now?”

“Do gay guys have sex?”

Suga nodded. “If they want to, they can.”

“Do you and Daichi have sex?”

“Hinata!”

“Ah- I’m sorry! That was weird, sorry, it just came out!” The first-year buried his face in his hands.

Suga laughed at the younger’s embarrassment and patted him on the back as he stood. “No worries, Hinata. That’s not the worst question I’ve gotten.” He finished packing up his practice bag and closed his locker. On his way out, he threw back, “The answer is yes, by the way!”


	2. Chapter 2

It was around the same time that Hinata first approached Suga with sexuality questions that Suga began noticing some of Yamaguchi’s strange habits, namely those that showed up in the club room, the locker room, and over team meals. Suga knew that Yamaguchi was a reserved kid, for sure. He would hide out in the corner of the locker room while he dried off after a shower - that was normal enough. Suga did that, too, when he was in his first year and didn’t know his teammates well yet. However, Yamaguchi almost always hid his body from his teammates, even when the boys were just changing out of their school uniforms and into their practice clothes in the club room. He also picked at his food at almost every meal - weird, especially during training camp, when almost everyone was starving by the time dinner rolled around. Then again, Tsukishima didn’t have much of an appetite either, so maybe Yamaguchi just happened to not have as big of a stomach as some of his teammates. 

The most concerning thing for Suga was how Yamaguchi avoided mirrors as if they had a personal vendetta against him. With the exception of using the mirrors in the locker room to ensure that his hair was presentable, he avoided them at all costs. The small mirror on the inside of his locker was covered up with a picture of him and Tsukishima as middle schoolers. While the other boys spent plenty of time adjusting their uniforms before a game or taking mirror selfies, Yamaguchi elected to only give himself a once-over before shrugging and hurrying away. It was like he couldn’t stand to see his own reflection.

It didn’t take a genius to put the pieces together and come to the conclusion that Yamaguchi Tadashi had some pretty rough body image issues.

The breaking point for Suga was when he caught Yamaguchi poking and prodding at his abdomen after one of their practice matches. He was far away from his teammates on the other side of the locker room, practically glaring at his body in the full-length mirror. He pinched at a bit of excess fat - no, it was just _skin_ \- near his hips, and pouted at himself in disappointment.

Suga decided he had had enough.

“Yamaguchi,” he snapped, startling the first-year, whose face paled as he realized he had been caught. Suga urged some gentleness back into his voice as told the boy to meet him outside when he was finished dressing and packing his things. “You’re not in trouble. I just need to talk to you - privately,” he added as Yamaguchi’s eyes flicked over to Tsukishima nervously.

“Sugawara-san, I-”

“ _Tadashi_ ,” Suga all but hissed at him, “don’t argue with me. I’ll be waiting outside.” The older boy grabbed his bag and left the locker room, thanking his lucky stars that the rest of the team was too invested in Nishinoya and Asahi’s weekend date plans to pay attention to him and Yamaguchi.

Once outside, Suga huffed and leaned back against the wall of the gym. Sure, he might’ve been a little harsh, but he had to say something. He couldn’t just stand there and watch the poor kid mentally belittle himself. Now, though, Suga felt stuck. What was he supposed to say? He wasn’t even happy with his own body, so how was he supposed to convince Yamaguchi to be happy with his?

When Suga finally heard the gym door open, he was met with a glowering Tsukishima instead of Yamaguchi. The younger boy quickly crowded him further against the wall, attempting to use his height to intimidate the upperclassman. When he spoke, though, his voice was strangely kind.

“Please don’t tell anyone else what he tells you, and try not to make him cry.”

Suga opened his mouth to respond, but the blonde was already walking away. Don’t tell anyone else? Try not to make him _cry_?

Maybe Suga wasn’t cut out for this, after all.

Before he could fully process what just happened, he felt a soft tap on his shoulder. He turned to meet the sheepish eyes of Yamaguchi, who looked like he wanted to be anywhere else. 

“Hi, Sugawara-san,” he started. “Um… I’m sorry about what you saw earlier, but it’s no big deal. I don’t want you to be worried, it’s really not-”

“That’s a lie, Tadashi,” Suga interrupted. He took a deep breath and ran a hand through his silver locks. “Okay, listen… I know you might not want to talk about this, but I’m really concerned about you - not just as your vice-captain, but as your friend. You’re not okay, and yes, it _is_ a big deal that you’re feeling this way about yourself.” 

By this point, Yamaguchi had his eyes trained on the ground, his hair falling forward and obscuring his face from view. Despite being a few centimeters taller than Suga, he seemed smaller than Suga had ever seen him look before. Suga started to worry that he had pushed him too far when he heard a small sniffle.

“Hey, can you look at me? Please?” Suga asked, reaching out and gently taking one of Yamaguchi’s hands in his own. When Yamaguchi finally looked up at him, Suga felt his heart clench painfully. The boy’s eyes were watery with unshed tears that he was clearly fighting back. “Come on, Tadashi. Talk to me. What’s going on?” Suga asked as he gave his hand a tiny squeeze of encouragement.

Yamaguchi bit his lip and sniffled. “I _hate_ my body,” he managed to grit out before tears began rolling freely down his cheeks, sobs wracking his thin frame.

“Oh, Tadashi, come here,” Suga murmured. He pulled Yamaguchi into a warm embrace and guided his head to rest on the older’s shoulder. The younger continued to sob into the upperclassman, tears soaking into his t-shirt and team jacket. Suga just held him and cooed quiet reassurances into his ear as he rubbed the younger boy’s back softly, waiting patiently for him to calm down. 

It took a few minutes, but eventually Yamaguchi’s sobs died down into little sniffles. He pulled back and attempted to dry his face with his sleeves. “I’m sorry.”

“There’s no need to be sorry,” Suga replied. He took in a long breath before letting it out slowly. “How long have you been feeling this bad about yourself?”

Yamaguchi shrugged. “I’ve never really felt good about my appearance, I guess.”

“Okay, excuse my language, but that’s fucking ridiculous. Are you kidding? Look at you!” Suga gestured at his underclassman. “You’re tall, you have great hair, you’re athletic - what’s not to like? You could be a pale, gangly third-year like me, right?” he joked, playfully giving the younger’s shoulder a light push. He was rewarded with a half smile and a small laugh.

“Yeah, I guess,” Yamaguchi responded quietly. “I used to get bullied for my skin, though. I had really bad acne in primary and middle school. I guess that’s why I just - I don’t know - I find it really hard to find things that I like. I don’t like looking at myself, and I’m trying to lose weight, and Tsukki is trying to make me get some more confidence, but it’s - it’s hard. Sometimes I just want to be someone else. I don’t want to look… like me.”

Suga bit his lip. “I understand, I do, but you’ve gotta cut yourself some slack. I’m not happy with how I look, either, so… I guess I’m being a little hypocritical.” He tilted his head and thought to himself for a moment before straightening up and snapping his fingers. “I know something we can try!”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah! It’s to help you feel better about one thing at a time, because you’ve gotta start somewhere, right? So basically, you choose one thing about yourself that you like, appearance-wise. It can be anything, even if you think it sounds dumb. I’ll go first, okay?” Suga waited for Yamaguchi to nod in understanding before continuing. “Let’s see… I like my legs. I think I’ve been building up more muscle recently, and it’s been helping me when I jump for blocks. Okay, your turn.”

“Can I say I like my legs, too?” Yamaguchi asked as he fiddled with his hair.

“Sure, as long as you’re being honest.”

“Oh. Um… nevermind, then.”

Suga watched his junior as he grappled with himself to choose something positive. He broke the silence before the younger’s mood could sink any lower. “Can I make a suggestion?” he asked.

“Uh, okay, sure.”

Suga reached out and tapped Yamaguchi on the cheek gently. “What about these?”

“My freckles?”

“Uh-huh.”

“Why would I like having freckles?” Yamaguchi asked, furrowing his brows and frowning.

Suga gasped overdramatically. “Seriously? I know people who would kill to have freckles naturally. You do know that some people get fake freckles tattooed on, right?”

Yamaguchi looked genuinely shocked. “I… I didn’t know that.” He reached up, brushing his fingers against his own cheeks. “People really do that?”

“Yep, they do. I swear I’m not making it up,” Suga replied, smiling.

The younger hummed to himself for a second, thinking. Then, he looked back at Suga with a matching smile. “I’ll choose my freckles, then,” he declared. Suga made a noise somewhere between a whine and a squeal as he embraced his underclassman again.

“I’m proud of you, Tadashi,” he said as he pulled back with a grin. “We’ll work through this together, okay? You’re not alone. And you can always talk to me if you need to, okay?”

Yamaguchi started to tear up again. “I know. Thank you for this, Sugawara-san.”

Suga snorted. “Don’t ‘Sugawara-san’ me after we just had such a heartfelt conversation! You can call me by my first name, you know.”

“Okay, okay, fine. Thank you, Koushi.”

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading :))  
> This work has been my stress relief as a senior in college during COVID-19 times. Haikyuu has quite literally saved me. I hope you all enjoyed, and please stay tuned for more!


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